U.S. States With Recall Provisions

The Associated Press

Published
8:00 pm EDT, Sunday, July 6, 2003

A look at recall laws around the country:

_ Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have provisions for recall elections for elected state officials. In addition, Virginia allows voters to collect signatures to subject state officials to a recall trial presided over by a judge.

The 18 states:

Alaska

Arizona

California

Colorado

Georgia

Idaho

Kansas

Louisiana

Michigan

Minnesota

Montana

Nevada

New Jersey

North Dakota

Oregon

Rhode Island

Washington

Wisconsin

_ Most states with recalls do not require proponents to cite grounds for the recall. Six states, however, do have such a requirement:

Alaska

Kansas

Minnesota

Montana

Rhode Island

Washington

Some details on recall attempts in California:

_ Since the California recall provision was enacted in 1911, there have been 117 attempts at the state level: 38 against Assembly members, 31 against governors, 26 against Supreme Court justices, 16 against state senators, two against attorneys general, two against members of the Board of Equalization, one against a lieutenant governor and one against the entire state Supreme Court.

_ Of those attempts, seven made it to the ballot, all of them against state lawmakers; four succeeded and three failed.

Officials recalled in California:

_ Democratic Sen. Edwin Grant in 1913. Represented what was then San Francisco's red-light district and was targeted for opposing prostitution.

_ Democratic Sen. Marshall Black, also in 1913. Recalled for his involvement in a banking scandal.

_ Assemblyman Paul Horcher in 1995, Recalled after he switched from Republican to independent and voted for Democrat Willie Brown as Assembly speaker.

_ Republican Assemblywoman Doris Allen also in 1995, after she made a deal with Brown that allowed her to become the first female speaker of the Assembly.

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Source: National Conference of State Legislatures, California Secretary of State, AP research